Community College Support Staff: What Role do they play in Student Success?

Community colleges are currently facing a myriad of challenges that affect student achievement, including changing student demographics, evolving missions, and financial issues. In response to these challenges, community colleges are implementing large-scale change initiatives that focus on increasing student success. Shifting to an educational environment where all employees are focused on student success requires all employees to function at peak performance and understand how their role supports the students. However, support staff members are often removed from consideration when it comes to student success initiatives, and the literature reveals very little about the role that these employees play in assisting students.

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the role community college support staff play in student success initiatives from the perspectives of students, support staff, and administrators at a Midwest community college. The researcher believed that a better understanding of this issue would allow college support staff the opportunity and appropriate training to assist students in achieving their educational goals. The data was collected using surveys and interviews, and analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methods.

Results of the study indicated that support staff employees play a vital role in assisting students, and could play a more robust role in student success initiatives if colleges were willing to create a more support-staff inclusive culture on campus. One way to accomplish this is to offer support staff employees additional access to the types of professional development opportunities that are currently offered to faculty and administrators. With training and commitment, support staff can become valuable partners in an institution’s student success efforts.